ExteNet works closely with cities and communities
to connect local areas to the outside world.
SIGNALING CHANGE
ExteNet wants to change how local officials view telecom companies by
making true investments in its communities. By Tim O'Connor
P
roviding the latest and
greatest cellular network
means oﬀering stable connections, fast internet speeds and
wide coverage. But the 3G and 4G
frequencies that make up the backbone of modern cellular service
don't allow the signal to propagate
as far as lower-capacity frequencies.
Cellular service providers must
expand their infrastructure to
provide good performance and
meet data capacity demands for
customers. "Carriers want to go
out and re-architect their footprint
in the cities to make sure they have
good coverage," says Tony Eigen,
product manager at ExteNet, a
provider of distributed network
44 inbuilding-magazine.com Volume 2, Issue 1
solutions for indoor and outdoor
environments. "No matter where
you go today, you expect to have
good coverage."
ALTERING PERCEPTIONS
Carriers increasingly rely on companies such as ExteNet to ﬁll out
their cellular networks. ExteNet
designs, builds, operates and
manages its wireless infrastructure,
ExteNet
www.extenetsystems.com
Headquarters: Lisle, Ill.
Specialty: Cellular networks
Timothy Asta, AICP national director
of strategic siting: "Every network we
build we expand so we have to have that
relationship."
acting as a neutral host that can
support any carrier's network.
On the indoor side, the company's approach is straightforward.
It works with building owners to
install the system and then markets
it directly to the carriers. However,
things become more complicated on the outdoor and small cell
deployment part of the business
because of the need to work with
town governments and address
public concerns.
Regulations and requirements
diﬀer from community to community, meaning that every installation will have its own quirks.
Further, how familiar local oﬃcials
are with cellular technology and